---
name: vault-architect
description: Scaffold a new company-brain vault. Use ONCE when starting a new vault. Confirms the target directory, industry profile, and whether to initialize git (default yes), then runs `cb scaffold` to create the folder tree, _branding/, _attachments/, exports/, and the _system reference files (PROFILE.md, INDEX.md, NODE-TYPES.md, EDGE-TYPES.md, FRONTMATTER-SCHEMA.md). Initializes the vault as a git repository by default. Does NOT write node content — that is the job of intake and atomize.
---

# vault-architect

This skill scaffolds a new company-brain vault. Run it once per vault. It delegates the actual work to the `cb scaffold` CLI command so the on-disk shape stays single-sourced with the schema package.

## When to use

- The user is creating a brand-new company-brain vault.
- The user wants to refresh `_system/*.md`, `_branding/` starters, `.gitignore`, or the vault `README.md` after upgrading company-brain (use `--force`).

## When NOT to use

- The user already has a vault and wants to add knowledge — point them at the `intake` or `atomize` skills.
- The user wants to change a vault's profile after the fact — that requires re-scaffolding into a new directory and migrating content by hand. The profile is not designed to be flipped in place.

## Workflow

### 1. Confirm with the user

Ask, in order:

1. **Target directory.** Where should the vault live? Default to the current working directory if the user doesn't specify. Resolve to an absolute path before passing to the CLI.
2. **Profile.** Which industry profile? Offer these choices with brief explanations:
   - `medical-device` — patient-facing devices regulated by FDA / MDR / etc. Activates indications-for-use, regulatory-clearance, and ISO-14971-vocabulary risk node types. Generated documents carry the controlled-document-boundary footer.
   - `default` — industry-agnostic. Only the epistemic and entity node types are active.
   - `saas`, `hardware`, `services` — reserved slots. In v1 these behave like `default`; content lands in v2.
3. **Git.** Confirm the user wants the vault initialized as a git repository (the default). Most company vaults benefit from this — it makes them shareable, version-controlled, and ready to push to GitHub / GitLab / Bitbucket / on-prem. Pass `--no-git` only when:
   - The user does not have git installed.
   - The vault will live inside another git repo (e.g., as an example vault tracked by a parent repo). `cb scaffold` will detect this case automatically and skip git, so `--no-git` is mainly an explicit signal.

If the target directory already contains a vault (i.e. `_system/PROFILE.md` exists), tell the user. Offer to re-run with `--force` if they want to regenerate the system docs after a company-brain upgrade.

### 2. Run the command

```bash
cb scaffold --profile <name> --path <dir>
```

For refresh after an upgrade:

```bash
cb scaffold --profile <name> --path <dir> --force
```

For a vault that should not be a git repo:

```bash
cb scaffold --profile <name> --path <dir> --no-git
```

### 3. Report results

The CLI prints a structured summary. Read it back to the user, then add:

- A reminder of the activated profile-conditional types (if any) so they know what's available.
- If git was initialized, suggest the next step: `git remote add origin <url>` then `git push -u origin main` to share the vault with the team.
- The next-step suggestion of adding knowledge via `intake vision` (for a dictation-friendly first pass) or `atomize` (for ingesting existing documents).
- The controlled-document-boundary reminder if the profile is `medical-device`.

## What gets created

| Path | What's there |
|---|---|
| `.git/` (when git enabled) | Initialized as `main` branch; one initial commit. |
| `.gitignore` | Vault-level. Notably gitignores `_system/INDEX.md` (regenerated by `cb`). |
| `README.md` | Identifies the vault and links back to company-brain. |
| `_system/PROFILE.md` | Declares the active profile. |
| `_system/INDEX.md` | Starter file. Gitignored — rebuilt by `cb` on demand as nodes are added. |
| `_system/NODE-TYPES.md`, `EDGE-TYPES.md`, `FRONTMATTER-SCHEMA.md` | Rendered from the schema package. Refreshed by `--force`. |
| `_branding/colors.yaml` | Starter brand palette. Edit to match the company. |
| `_branding/README.md` | Explains what goes in `_branding/`. |
| `_attachments/`, `exports/` | Empty folders, ready to receive captures and generated documents. Both committed by default. |
| `pillars/`, `decisions/`, `entities/...`, `risk/...` | Empty node-type folders for the chosen profile. |

## Worked examples

### Starting a medical-device vault

```bash
cb scaffold --profile medical-device --path /Users/jane/work/acme-monitor-vault
```

Expected: ~35 folders, 9 files written, git initialized with an initial commit. The user can then `git remote add origin git@github.com:acme/acme-monitor-vault.git && git push -u origin main`.

### Refreshing system docs after upgrade

```bash
cb scaffold --profile medical-device --path /Users/jane/work/acme-monitor-vault --force
```

This overwrites the five `_system/*.md` files, the two `_branding/` starter files, and the vault `.gitignore` and `README.md`. Does not touch any node files, attachments, exports, or git history. The user will see uncommitted changes in `git status`; reviewing and committing them is the user's call.

### Scaffolding an example vault inside another repo

```bash
cb scaffold --profile medical-device --path ./examples/some-fictional-vault --no-git
```

When a vault lives inside another git repo (e.g., the company-brain examples), `--no-git` skips git initialization to avoid nesting a second repo. `cb scaffold` also auto-detects this case and skips git even without the flag, but `--no-git` makes the intent explicit.

## Constraints

- This skill never writes node content. Refuse politely if asked to add a pillar, decision, fact, etc. — that is the intake/atomize skills' job.
- This skill never runs `cb validate`. Mention that the user can run it themselves once nodes exist.
- This skill never modifies an existing PROFILE.md to switch profiles. Doing so silently would leave orphan folders and break retrieval. If the user wants a different profile, scaffold a new vault.
- This skill never pushes to a remote. It suggests the command but the user is responsible for the actual push.